Some New Faces and Some Old Ones in Tampa Bay
4 min read
Dec 4, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals assistant Byron Leftwich against the Washington Redskins at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have a new look in 2019. The Buccaneers parted ways with Dirk Koetter and Mike Smith in 2019. The former coaches could not right the ship, which ultimately led to their demise in Tampa. The Buccaneers wasted no time in their coaching search. Bruce Arians will lead the Buccaneers in 2019. He has already begun assembling his coaching staff, which will inherit a very talented roster. Fans should be very excited for the 2019 NFL season. Let’s take a look at each coach that will be roaming the sideline for the Buccaneers this upcoming season.
We might as well start at the top with head coach Bruce Arians. He is a football guy that has been productive at all ranks of football. He is an offensive guru that has been called a “quarterback whisperer.” It took Arians several years before getting his shot at head coach, but the time is now in Tampa. He began his head coaching career in Indianapolis when Chuck Pagano had to take a leave of absence due to cancer. He went 9-3 and led the Colts to the playoffs. After that 2012 season Arians was hired as the head coach in Arizona. The Cardinals went 49-30 in Arizona. Arians led the Cardinals to the playoffs in 2014 and 2015.
Arians will be assisting the offense for the Buccaneers in 2019, but the offensive coordinator is falling on the shoulders of former NFL quarterback Byron Leftwich. He will serve as the offensive/ pass-game coordinator in Tampa Bay. Leftwich is a new name in the NFL coaching scene. He served as the quarterback’s coach for Arizona in the 2017-2018 season. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018. Leftwich was a very productive quarterback in the NFL playing from 2003-2012. That includes a year (2009) in Tampa Bay. He also won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008. Who was the offensive coordinator you ask? That’s right, Bruce Arians.
Harold Goodwin will also be joining Bruce Arians coaching staff. Goodwin will be the assistant head coach and run game coordinator. He has been part of the NFL coaching ranks since 2004. He served as the Bears, Steelers, and Colts offensive line coach. While in Pittsburgh he was the quality control coordinator. The quality control coordinator is in charge of assisting the offensive staff with game day preparation, video analysis, and scouting of opponents. He was the offensive coordinator for Arizona from 2013-2017. Arians brought him to Tampa after sitting out a season. Goodwin won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008 alongside Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich.
Clyde Christensen will serve as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback coach. He will help Arians turn Jameis Winston into the next big star in the NFL. Coincidently, Christensen began his NFL coaching resume in Tampa Bay. He was the Tight Ends Coach (96-98), Quarterbacks Coach (99-00), and Offensive Coordinator (2001). Christensen moved on to Indianapolis in 2002. He was the Wide Receivers Coach (02-07), Assistant Head Coach & Wide Receivers Coach (08), Offensive Coordinator (09-11), and Quarterbacks Coach (12-15.)The Miami Dolphins called him next to be their Offensive Coordinator (16-17) and Director of Football/ Player Development in 2018. The Buccaneers will be counting on him to help develop Jameis Winston over the next 4 to 5 years. Coach Christensen won a Super Bowl in 2006 as an assistant coach for the Indianapolis Colts.
The Buccaneers have been running joke of the NFC South due to their struggling defense. Fans are hoping that new Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles will fix it in the 2019 season. Bowles started his career as the Secondary Coach with the Jets in 2000. He spent 2001-2004 as the Browns Secondary Coach. He bounced from Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, and Arizona from 2005-2014. He served as Defensive Coordinator for Bruce Arians in 2013-2014. The Arizona Cardinals ranked in the top 5 defenses under Todd Bowles. He got his big break when the Jets called him to be the Head Coach in 2015. He was fired in 2018 after multiple bad seasons. Coach Bruce Arians called him to be the Defensive Coordinator for his Buccaneers in 2019. He should bring toughness to the secondary that the Buccaneers have lacked the past few seasons. Bowles will need to develop this young secondary fast if we want to compete in the NFC South immediately. He won a Super Bowl as a player in 1987 with the Washington Redskins and was the AP Assistant Coach of the Year in 2014.
Last, but not least, the new defensive line coach in Tampa Bay is Kacy Rodgers, and this came as a surprise to numerous Buccaneer fans because Coach Buckner seemed to make progress with the defensive line last season. Rodgers was the defensive coordinator under Todd Bowles while they were in New York from 2015-2018. He started with the Cowboys in 2003. After the 2007 season, Coach Rodgers moved onto the Miami Dolphins where he served as the defensive line coach. He coached in Miami from 2008 to 2014. The Buccaneers are hoping he can turn our defensive line into the playmakers of Sapp, Rice, and McFarland. There is a lot of talent on the defensive front on the current Buccaneers roster, so Coach Rodgers should have fun with this group.
This is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff for the 2019 season. They bring numerous years of experience to a relatively young roster. They have Super Bowl pedigrees and have won everywhere their career has taken them. I am excited to see the knowledge they instill on this group of Buccaneers players. One thing’s for sure the future is bright in Tampa Bay. Look for more coaches to be added to Arians’ staff in the upcoming days. Stay tuned to Bucs Life News and All Things Bucs for breaking news.
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